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JANUARY 2019 • TEVET - SHEVAT 5779 • ISSUE 292 2 Community Spotlight 3 Jewish Historical Society of England – Sussex Branch by Godfrey R Gould Even the atrocious weather of 27 November could not dampen individuals who had taken part and especially those who had the enthusiasm of the capacity audience who turned up at our perished. last meeting of 2018 to hear our Chairman, Michael Crook, In all, this was a most impressive display of original research speak on The Brighton Jewish Community: 1910-1920. This lecture was delivered to commemorate the end of the Great War excellently presented. Michael observed that it was surprising a century ago. that nobody had undertaken such a study before. The many who had made such a special effort to attend were not Michael has researched most diligently from several primary disappointed. sources, such as the Minutes of the Brighton Hebrew Congregation, the Jewish Chronicle Our next meeting will be on Archive, the Jewish Roll of Honour Tuesday 29 January 2019 when and local Directories to assemble this Our next meeting will be on Dr Imogen Choi, Queen Sofia impressive picture of the Brighton and Special Fellow and Lecturer in Hove Jewish community then. The Tuesday 29 January 2019. Spanish, Exeter College, and many intriguing highlights included Associate Professor of Spanish at the short-lived Montefiore Minyan, the the University of Oxford, will speak impressive generosity of Sir John Howard, and the remarkable on “Mediaeval Sephardi Literature”. The meeting will be at Ralli number of High Holydays services (five, all Orthodox!). Of Hall commencing at 7.45 pm, free for members, students and course, most important, was the contribution made by men of season ticket holders, only £5 to most welcome guests and the local Jewish Community in the global conflict. Here, Michael visitors, and which also includes light refreshments after the had discovered many discrepancies in the numbers and of the lecture.

Cover: Flower images painted by members of EDITORIAL BOARD Doris Levinson, Stephanie Megitt, Dr Winston Pickett, the Jewish Art Society (JAS) for the new Top Hat Michael Rich, David Seidel production this month. TECHNICAL ADVISOR Brian Megitt SJN brings local news, events, articles, reviews, ADMINISTRATOR Hazel Coppins announcements, people, congregations, communities, contacts and more. Delivered at ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Ivor Sorokin the start of each month, SJN is run entirely by COMMUNAL DIARY [email protected] volunteers for reporting, editing and circulating COVER PHOTO Rochelle Oberman each edition. It has become the cornerstone of the Jewish community across the region. PRODUCTION/LAYOUT Gemini Studio

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ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 Sussex Jewish News Contents PO Box 2178 • Hove BN3 3SZ Telephone: 07906 955 404 2 [email protected] or [email protected] 3 FEATURES

1 TOP HAT FLOWERS Image by various members of the Jewish Arts Society

2 COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT Jewish Historical Society – Sussex Branch

9 HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY 2019 The programme at the University of Sussex

10 HOLOCAUST REFLECTIONS The Great Escape, Torn from Home and Rabbi Charles Wallach

13 ZEH RAK DA’ATI MARTIN GROSS Godfrey Gould’s fourth instalment Memorials 14 SUSSEX JEWISH REP COUNCIL What our great and good have been up to All aspects of stone-masonry undertaken from new to renovation and cleaning 01273 439792 REGULARS 4 SUSSEX AND THE CITY 07801 599771 Your news, views and stories from across the county

8 CULTURE Film and East Preston remembers

20 WHAT’S ON – JANUARY Regular and special events in your community YOUR COMMUNITY 16 BRIGHTON & HOVE PROGRESSIVE SYNAGOGUE 17 BRIGHTON & HOVE REFORM SYNAGOGUE 18 BRIGHTON & HOVE HEBREW CONGREGATION 19 HOVE HEBREW CONGREGATION

Full page (A4 size) £170 Sussex Jewish News (‘SJN’), its Editor and Editorial Board: Half page (A5 size) £100 • are not allied to any synagogue or group and the views expressed by writers are not necessarily those of SJN; Quarter page (A6 size) £65 • accept advertisements in good faith but do not endorse any products 1/9 page (credit card size) £40 or services and do not accept liability for any aspect of any advertisements; and Personal Announcements in a box (up to 6 lines): £25 • welcome readers’ contributions but reserve the right to edit, cut, decline Announcements up to 3 lines £10 or submit the content to others for comment. To ensure that we receive your submissions by email, please send them ONLY to sjneditor@sussexjewishnews. Flyers: Price on application com, otherwise we cannot guarantee their consideration for publication. To Local Jewish charities will not be charged, subject to assist the Editorial Board, submissions should be in Word format using Times New Roman font, size 12. Receipt of submissions may not be acknowledged, editorial decision. unless specifically requested. As the Editorial Board is made up entirely of GUIDELINES ADVERTISING ADVERTISING IN SJN BOOK NOW! 07906 955 404 volunteers, any response may be subject to delay.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 4 Sussex and the City 5 Your News Special Birthdays Deaths We wish a very happy birthday to Maurice Booker, Nati We wish Long Life to the families of Gerald Conn z’l and Buchalter, Tonia Lewis, Sylvia Simon, Ivor Sorokin and all Professor Edward (Ted) Timms OBE z’l who have special birthdays this month. Erratum Get Well In the December issue of SJN we printed the name of Hershel We wish refuah sheleimah to all who are unwell or in Gorker z’l as having passed away. This should have read hospital at the present time. Hershel Golker z’l. We apologize for the error and wish the family Long Life.

Your Views

From Myrna Carlebach My continued congratulations for your welcome bit of Lauterpacht initiated the phrase Human Rights and Lemkin Brighton interest every month. invented the word Genocide. Lauterpacht was one of the British team at the Nuremberg Trials and was Professor of I always read it cover to cover with a special interest in the Law at Cambridge University. four rabbinical thoughts. However, this month I need to add to the Jewish Connection to Human Rights article. We knew the Lauterpacht family in Cambridge and I taught the three grandchildren in the cheder. With respect, you cannot talk about the Declaration of Human Rights without mentioning Hersch Lauterpacht whose design You can read the amazing story of Lauterpacht and Lemkin in it was. He and Rafael Lemkin were both Jewish law students Phillipe Sands’ amazing book, “East West Street”. at Lvov university before WW2.

from Peggy Sherwood MBE I read with interest Simon Seligman’s article in the December 8.30am and two further volunteers transport sleeping bags on 2018 SJN and also the Pause for Thought piece. to the next venue. Having been born and brought up in Hove, and having been This is a wonderful project which I’m proud to say I’ve an out of town member of BHPS for several years, I enjoy my done the FPS rota for the past three years. This year it was subscription to SJN very much. extended to 30 weeks from 24. At the end of the 30 weeks we hope that many of the guests will have found accommodation For many years now, my synagogue, Finchley Progressive before being back on the streets for the summer months Synagogue, has taken part in Together in Barnet’s Winter although it’s sad to note that sometimes we see many familiar Night Shelter. Each night, a different place of worship in faces the following year. the London Borough of Barnet opens its doors, provides a hot three course meal, hosts up to 17 guests (referred by Synagogues and other places of worship are ideal places for Together in Barnet) to sleep in the building, and then provides a Night Shelter – generally unused at night and large enough a fully cooked breakfast. Finchley Progressive Synagogue to accommodate people who otherwise would have spent was the first synagogue to be involved in the Shelter but now the night on the streets. Because it is a project run through there are others – Finchley Reform (who also run the five day/ Together in Barnet guests are referred to us – no alcohol or night Christmas Night Shelter), Shaare Zadek Reform and drug use is tolerated and we have had few problems. now this year New North London Masorti. Finchley Progressive Synagogue is also a collection point The Shelter runs for 30 weeks from October through till for Finchley FoodBank which is run by our neighbours and April with three cycles of ten weeks each. This year Finchley friends at St Mary’s Church, East Finchley. Recently we had a Progressive has been involved in the first ten week cycle request for Advent Calendars for their clients – we delivered every Tuesday night. A band of four or five FPS members over 50 to the Church last week as a special treat. And we open up the synagogue at 7pm and serve a delicious also co-run a Coffee Club for Syrian Refugees settled in vegetarian home-cooked meal to our guests, at 10pm two the London Borough of Barnet – true multi-faith working further volunteers come to sleep over in the synagogue with and collaboration. I’m so proud to be associated with the the guests and then around 6.30am a further two volunteers synagogue because this is true Tzedakah and, I strongly arrive to cook a full vegetarian breakfast. The guests leave by believe, the way forward to heal our broken world.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 4 Sussex and the City 5 Ralli Hall Lunch and Social Club by Jacquie Tichauer I am sure you are wondering what happened to 2018? I am fundraising events of the year and we thank Alan and Shirley not sure I can answer that but I do know that everyone had a Burke and their magnificent volunteers for such a great great time at the Lunch and Social Club. I cannot thank our afternoon. amazing volunteers enough for all the hard work, dedication On Tuesday 4th December we held our annual Chanukah and kindness they give to the Lunch Club as it could not party and were joined by the Sussex Jewish Representative exist without them. Thank you so much and I look forward to Council, our card ladies, Helping Hands and JACS. Top Hat working with you all next year. Productions entertained us, much to everyone’s delight. Once again, we enjoyed our long weekend in Eastbourne Chanukah candles were lit by Rabbi Efune. What with our which was well supported. The weather was wonderful and members and volunteers together numbering about 110 everyone had a great time. Our members went for a day out people, it was quite a squeeze but well worth it. to Rushfields Plant Centre where they enjoyed a lovely lunch Our new winter menu is proving to be successful, with ≈ and cream tea. lovely thick winter soups, pies and traditional food that our Our annual Card Afternoon was a great success with a full members enjoy. house of seventeen tables of bridge, kalooki and rummikub, We look forward to seeing current members and volunteers followed by a delicious tea. This is one of our major together with new faces in 2019

Message from the Centre Manager Tel: 01273 202254 by Maxine Gordon [email protected] www.rallihall.com Happy New Year! Our membership forms are on their way and we hope you • Ralli Hall Lunch & Social Club – their home every Tuesday will be able to support Ralli Hall this year by becoming a and Thursday where the older congregation can enjoy member. We really do appreciate the contributions that are Kosher lunches, entertainment, and more importantly, made to your local Jewish Community Centre, and we would company. Once a month (1st Thursday) they are also joined be grateful if you are able to do so in 2019. If we haven’t sent by JACS (Jewish Association of Cultural Societies) where you a form, do please let us know. interesting speakers visit, and a variety of different topics The term ‘membership’ has been misinterpreted over are discussed. many years - people often ask, “what will I get for my • Many Simchas, including Wedding Anniversaries, membership?”. So, it was agreed by our Board to change it to Birthdays, Pre-Barmitzvah Shabbos dinners, Chabad ‘Friends of Ralli Hall’. functions for the whole community including Festivals and We are sure you will agree that this now represents the real High Holy Day celebrations. reason – friendship, loyalty and a commitment received We are delighted to welcome Nicola Hyman, Lesley Walker, from members of our local community, who take the time to Michele Kay and Gary Weston as new Committee Members support the only non-denominational Jewish Centre in the on our Board. All have an abundance of Jewish community South-East. Thank you. experience, local knowledge and bright ideas. They will We are proud that, since 1976, we have been able to support definitely enhance our established team, making it an exciting our local community and a few recent examples include:- time ahead. • Top Hat Productions – supporting a locally home-grown In fact, save the date of our forthcoming Barn Dance on group by providing free rehearsal space over a 6-month Sunday 17th March 2019 – more details to follow! period and our beautiful Main Hall with Stage for their We look forward to welcoming you to Ralli Hall in 2019. annual shows. • Complimentary meeting and function rooms for local groups including Sussex Jewish Representative Council, Helping Hands, Sussex Friends of Israel, Jewish Living, Important message Brighton & Hove Jewish School and CST Security. HOSPITAL CHAPLAINCY VISITS • Interesting Ralli Hall groups which are run by dedicated If you are in hospital or know anyone being admitted volunteers for many years, including Israeli Dancing and into hospital, please get in touch with info@ JAS (Jewish Art Society) on a weekly basis, and Jewish sussexjewishrepresentativecouncil.org or telephone 07789 Film Club every 2 months. 491279 so that a Jewish chaplain can be contacted to visit.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 6 Sussex and the City 7 Turning a vision into reality by David Shinegold As the five of us looked around the empty room which the staff • “Having a school will motivate people to become more involved in at Ralli Hall had kindly arranged for us with tables, chairs and the Jewish life of their community.” refreshments for forty people, we speculated on how many would However, these challenges and practicalities were also explored and attend this significant communal meeting to discuss the possibility of articulated: establishing a Jewish Primary School in Brighton and Hove. • “Acquiring a suitable site in the right location.” It was a proposal we had been exploring for over a year, and for which we undertook a small survey of Jewish families in the area, • “The politics of different faith groups.” visited Mosaic Jewish Primary School in Roehampton and met with • “The threat of antisemitism and the provision of adequate security.” officers of our local Education Authority who wondered why we didn’t already have such a school. • “Ensuring that other religions and beliefs are represented in the classroom.” After looking at the evidence, we felt that • “The current lack of a Jewish secondary school in the area to whether or not we which pupils could progress.” continued with this • “The widespread geographical area from which children may wish project was a decision to access the school.” that should be made by members of the • “Attracting and inspiring young Jewish families to enrol their Jewish communities in children at the school.” Brighton & Hove. Talking • “Apathy and declining population.” with people informally over the months we • “The availability of a sufficient number of young people in found that while some the community who have the energy, enthusiasm, expertise, supported the idea, others felt that, for one reason or another, it was commitment, time and inspiration to make this project successful.” not a viable proposition. We therefore decided to hold this meeting to As had been anticipated, these discussions evoked a strong interest give people an opportunity to hear the experiences and challenges in identifying a whole range of questions which needed to be of setting up the Mosaic School and provide a forum in which people answered - some of which were: felt free to express their views about establishing a similar school here. • “What are the entry criteria?” As the room began to • “Do children in similar cross-communal schools mix naturally or do fill up with people from they segregate themselves?” across the four Jewish • “What would be the parental line defining the child’s Jewish communities in the identity?” area including three of our rabbis, I detected • “Is there a sufficient number of Jewish children in the area?” a sense of eager • “What sort of funding is available to purchase a site, provide and anticipation amongst the maintain a school?” participants. • “How can we find and use a core group of experts to help?” When I introduced Shirley Lee, the • “Will the school start at Reception or would all years be catered for Founding Chair of Mosaic School, to give her presentation, I did not initially?” foresee how strongly her informative, fascinating and inspirational • “Would all boys wear kippot regardless of their faith?” delivery would impact on the audience. While she articulated the benefits and joys of setting up Mosaic, she was very open about the • “Could the school have a funded nursery?” challenges and the enormous amount of work and commitment it took • “How much involvement would the community need to have?” to achieve their aims. She interspersed her delivery with clips of the • “What can elderly people without children or grandchildren school and its children and I could see the concentration on the faces contribute to this project?” of many people as they listened intently to what she had to say. Within the time that was left, Shirley answered some of these After listening to Shirley’s comprehensive account of how the Mosaic questions in relation to the experiences of setting up the Mosaic school was founded, the attendees had the opportunity to express School, but in the near future all of these questions will need to be their personal views on the benefits and challenges of setting up a addressed in respect of establishing a school in Brighton & Hove. similar school in Brighton & Hove as well as asking questions about the project. The biggest surprise of the evening was the result of the questionnaire that those present completed and handed in at the Some of the views expressed about opening a school here were very very end of the meeting. The feedback that we received showed that moving: 99% of people supported the founding of a Jewish school in the • “It would endure and enhance the future of Brighton & Hove Jewish area. More importantly, of the 35 people who attended, fifteen agreed life and perpetuate Jewish communities on the South Coast.” to be part of a Project Management Group and actively work towards • “It would bring my faith to everyday life.” achieving what the community has clearly chosen to support – a Jewish school in Brighton & Hove. • “It could lessen prejudice as children do not have preconceived ideas and will learn about other cultures and build bridges between This group will hold its first meeting on Tuesday 15th January. It the Jewish and general communities.” will not be confined to those people who submitted their forms on the evening. Everyone who wishes to be a part of this project and • “The school will promote morals and beliefs as well as faith who feels that they have specific skills, knowledge, experience education.” and commitment will be made welcome, so that, together we may • “It is a fundamental requirement in attracting Jewish families to the explore how we can develop and implement a strategy that will turn area.” this communal vision into a successful reality.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 6 Culture 7 Farewell Gaby’s by Gordon Kay Another Jewish London institution closed recently. Gaby’s not seen as being so special. With rents so high in London, Continental Deli, in the heart of theatreland, just down I guess some chain will take the place, but we shall all have from Leicester Square station, closed its doors at the end the memories. of October. And another little piece of characterful Jewish We sometimes think that Jewish history and heritage is in London disappeared. buildings, like shuls and community centres, but our culture At least this time it was on the owner’s terms. After 53 years is richer than that. As Gaby’s joins the collective memory of trading Gaby Eleyaho had decided to retire. And there was like Solly’s and Bloom’s, we should remember that their something of a prophet in his Middle Eastern Jewish cuisine stories and our memories of them should be recorded. when he opened his deli in 1965. It is said that he brought Such as one about a man who brought falafel to theatreland the falafel to Londoner’s palates. In an area of shabby and won celebrity and Londoners’ hearts. Enjoy your sandwich bars it stood out, gaining many famous theatrical retirement, Gaby. friends over the next five decades. They came to his aid in 2012, when the aristocratic landowner, the Marquess of Salisbury, wanted to replace Gaby’s with a more profit-inducing chain fast food restaurant. Theatre stars rallied to save the deli, with Simon Callow running a special falafel-themed theatre piece and Henry Goodman literally singing for his supper to keep it open. Even Vanessa Redgrave brought her best campaigning skills to keep it open. They succeeded.

I went there from the late 80s, SUSSEX JEWISH FILM CLUB AND remembering the first occasion sometime

after my bar mitzvah, so it felt like some THE JEWISH HISTORICAL SOCIETY (SUSSEX BRANCH) kind of additional rite of passage. The wonderful thing is that the food was always the same and of the same quality. Present a Special Evening for Jewish History Month at Ralli Hall. And while you sat there enjoying the meal, you looked at the number of signed posters and photos of stars, from Jackie On Sunday 10th MARCH 2019 Mason to Matt Damon. For me, it was its reliability that made it special: you were never disappointed PHIL GRABSKY - 35 YEARS IN FILM MAKING and the staff were always warm and welcoming, which is not something you can say about every Jewish restaurant. It also expressed an unfussy expression of Jewish culture, in the same way that its near neighbour, Bar Italia, expressed for

Italian culture with its coffee and cakes. Programme for the evening: As it happened, I had one more chance to dine the day before it closed its doors. 7.30pm Light Refreshments (Tea, Coffee & Biscuits) The falafel and pita were as I always 8.00 Presentation 9.00 Any Questions? remember. Falafel made with bulgar 9.30 Conclude wheat, vibrant salads and great hummus. My only regret is that I did not have one Free to Ralli Hall and JHSE Members. Visitors £5.00 of his fine latkes, I was just too full. It was Contacts: Film Club David Bresh [email protected] as busy as ever, packed with customers, JHSE: Michael Crook [email protected] each thanking Gaby personally for his work as they paid at the counter. Parking at Hove Station Car Park Cost £2.15 It is a pity no one could see the potential in taking it over, but now falafel is available in Asda and Tesco, it is probably

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 8 Culture 9 GETT: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem

On Sunday 3rd February, we will be showing GETT: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem. This 2014 film received many global awards. The film is the third in a trilogy by celebrated brother/sister duo, Shlomi and Ronit Elkabetz, and is about an unhappily married woman, Viviane Amsalem. She seeks a divorce, but finds out just how difficult it can be for Jewish women to obtain a Gett from the religious court in Israel. Her husband refuses his permission to a divorce and thereby she cannot be granted a Gett. This results in a host of trials and tribulations over a five- year span. A suspenseful film mostly filmed inside the court room. Free to Ralli Hall members and full-time students, otherwise £4. For more information contact David Bresh at [email protected].

East Preston Remembers its Jewish Residents by Nicholas Beck If one asked in London or even In 1901 in the periodical New Brighton & Hove, there are many Liberal Review, Zangwill wrote who would not know of East “Palestine is a country without Preston, a leafy village on the a people; the Jews are a people West Sussex coast between without a country”. In the UK in Worthing and Littlehampton. From 1895 he introduced Theodor Herzl a Jewish point of view, the same to supporters from Anglo-Jewry is true about general knowledge of and was a supporter of Herzl until Israel Zangwill and his wife Edith Herzl’s death. Ayrton. However, both are people He was put off by the reaction of very worthy of being known and the Arab population in Jerusalem remembered. and thought that the Jews moving The Sussex Jewish Outreach in to Palestine would be sitting Group and West Sussex Jewish targets. He founded his own Jewish Community were invited to take Territorial Organisation (the ITO) part in the unveiling of a plaque to which sought other remedies, such their memory. as land in Uganda, or the United States or Canada. His greatest ITO From a Jewish point of view both success was in working with Jacob Israel Zangwill stands with the Schiff on the Galveston Plan, which greatest and his wife not far behind. His parents were brought 10,000 immigrants to the United States between immigrants but Israel was born in London in 1864. He 1907 and 1914. went to the Jewish Free School in East London and then to London University where he was awarded BA Israel Zangwill died in 1926 in Midhurst. Although we with honours in English, French, and Mental and Moral know the development of the Zionist cause eventually Science. delivered the State of Israel, Zangwill should be remembered, and his writings are well worth discovering. He was foremost an author; Zangwill’s work earned him the nickname, ‘the Dickens of the Ghetto’. He wrote a Zangwill’s second wife, Edith Ayrton, is famous in her own very influential novel, The Children of the Ghetto, which is right as a fighter for Jewish Women’s rights and suffrage. available as an audio book on YouTube, as are his books, She married Zangwill in 1903. Because of ill health she The Melting Pot - a play - and the King of Schnorrers. felt she could not be a militant suffragette but she and her stepmother joined the Women’s Social and Political Union However, if he was famous as a writer, he was more and in 1912, she helped to found the Jewish League for influential as one of the leading Zionists of the day. Women’s Suffrage.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 8 Holocaust Memorial Day 2019 9

Holocaust Memorial Centre for Day at The German-Jewish Studies University of Sussex Jubilee Lecture Theatre, Jubilee Holocaust Memorial Day Building, University of Sussex, Brighton, BN1 9SL TORN FROM HOME

1:30 pm Welcome • Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor, University of Sussex Frida Gustafsson, President, University of Sussex Students’ Union Michael Newman, Chief Executive, The Association of Jewish Refugees • Gideon Reuveni, Director, Centre for German-Jewish Studies 1:45 pm Professor Richard Overy, Professor of History, University of Exeter • ‘September 1939 and the Fate of Europe’s Jews’ • Chair: Liz James, Head of Wednesday 6 February 2019 School of History, Art History and Philosophy Jubilee Lecture Theatre | Jubilee Building | University of Sussex | Brighton | BN1 9SL 2:45 pm Short break 3:00 pm Detective Chief Superintendent Nick May will light a memorial candle designed by Anish Kapoor and say a few words on behalf of Sussex Police. 3:05 pm Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, one of the founders of the English Chamber Orchestra 4.30 pm Film: HOME MOVIE by award- survived Auschwitz as a member of the woman’s winning documentary film-maker orchestra. She has spent the past 30 years lecturing Caroline Pick in Germany as a warning for the future. Chair: Nicola Glucksmann, Documentary Niklas Frank’s father was Dr Hans Frank, Governor Producer and Jungian Analyst of Nazi occupied Poland. He has completely This film has been selected for several repudiated his father and spends his time warning prestigious international Jewish Film Festivals: new generations about the future. London, Jerusalem, Toronto, San Francisco, The two will be in conversation, chaired by Trudy New York, Berlin and Moscow. Gold, Director of Holocaust Studies, JW3, Jewish Following the showing of the film, Caroline Community Centre, London Pick will be in conversation with Nicola 4.00 pm Refreshments in G30 Social Space, Jubilee Glucksmann followed by a Q and A. Building

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 10 Holocaust Reflections 11

The Great Escape A true and honest account of Kate Atkins’ escape from the Holocaust - her words were taken down by Gweni Sorokin and Harry Atkins, her daughter and son.

Early in 1939 things were very bad in Germany for the The train pulled in, scarcely coming to a complete halt. Jews and so my husband and I decided to emigrate to The woman jumped on, I handed her boy up to her then South America. Shortly before we were due to leave the jumped aboard myself. I still had one foot on the platform country we received a telegram from the South American as the train started to move out of the station. The last authorities stating that refugees were no longer being thing I remember seeing were the faces of the doomed allowed into the country. Whilst we were deciding what to passengers still in the waiting-room. do my husband was arrested by the Gestapo and even All I had with me were the clothes on my back and the though I managed to get him out by proving that we were equivalent of 50p in my pocket. I sat back with a sigh about to leave Germany, he had to flee the country very of relief. There were no more Nazis now… this was a quickly and England seemed the only place to go. When Belgian train travelling to Dover with Belgian porters he got here he immediately joined the British army and checking our papers. Apparently, this was the last train soon got permission for his wife to join him. leaving Aachen for the foreseeable future. When this Two weeks before war broke out I started my journey news sank in I sobbed my heart out. After years of living across Europe. From Berlin the train made its way to in fear of my life I was finally safe. Anyone else trying Aachen, the German/Belgian border. We arrived late at a similar route later on was going to be sent back to a night and were ordered off the train and into the customs death camp simply because they had tried to escape. I shed. All our passports and travel documents were taken think I must have had a guardian angel watching over me away and I even had to surrender my watch and wedding all that time. ring while the luggage was being searched. You had to Finally, we reached Ostend. More customs officials but have a list of everything you were taking with you, and this time it wasn’t so frightening. All that was asked was if anything else was discovered in your baggage or on where were we going and what was the purpose of our your person it was immediately confiscated. Then, one by visit? Then the ferry sailed. During the crossing I had time one, we were taken into a small room for a body search. to reflect on the miracles that had happened so far. All my While waiting I got into a conversation with a woman fellow passengers were in similar circumstances, so when who was also travelling to England with her small son. the ship was in sight of the cliffs of Dover, we all came We were all cold and tired but had to wait patiently on out on deck to watch the English coastline approaching. the platform. When my turn came the customs officer in Some people cheered, some sang, a lot cried but all of us charge of searching the women did a very strange thing. were thankful to God. As the boat was going through the She told me not to bother about the search, but, as we process of docking I heard all kinds of strange sounds had to allow some time to elapse before I returned, we coming from the harbour. Imagine my feelings when I chatted. She returned my documents and asked about learned that the port was, in fact, being sealed off as the my husband in England, and did I want to see him rumours of war were now very strong. No more boats again? What a stupid question: of course I wanted to be would be landing at Dover. with him, but, just as importantly, I wanted to get out of Germany. She then told me that at 5.00 a.m. a train was Suddenly I was standing on British soil and there, beyond due at the station, the boat train going on to Dover. It the barrier, was my beloved husband eagerly awaiting stopped only long enough to throw out the mail sacks, my arrival. He had had no way of knowing the exact but unless I was on that train I would be returned to Berlin time I would get to England but had put his faith in my and certain death. I was to tell no-one as spies were all determination and in God that we would be together around and she would be in big trouble if she was found again. I don’t think I could ever describe those first out. I went back to the waiting room and the woman I precious moments. Lots of hugging, kissing and weeping: had been speaking to before asked about my encounter both of us so grateful to the Almighty for our reunion. with the customs lady. I wasn’t going to say anything I have lived in this country for more than forty years now: but when I saw the face of her little boy I motioned her I became a naturalised British citizen as soon as possible to follow me outside. In the middle of the platform, away after my arrival. My husband served in the British army from everybody, I told her about the in-coming train. for the duration of the war. Both our children were born I warned her not to breathe a word to anyone, even and raised here, as were my grandchildren. Since coming her son, and when the time was near we would walk to England I have travelled to many other countries, out again onto the platform on the pretext of getting including South America, where I might have lived had some fresh air. She was worried about her luggage but things been different. In my opinion this is the best I couldn’t have cared less. We had the opportunity to country in the world where one can be truly free. I regard escape with our lives. Nothing else really mattered. A myself as a British subject and proud of it. I hope you all few minutes before 5 o’clock we were ready and waiting. realise how lucky you are to be English - I certainly do.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 10 Holocaust Reflections 11 Reflections by Rabbi Charles Wallach

Though life forces us to move on to the next event in Armistice Day. Instead, I willingly went to London to our calendar - currently Chanukah and all that pertains attend the very moving service in Westminster Abbey to it, allow me to give a personal reflection on some of commemorating the end of the First World War. As the what I was able to experience over the weekend that Senior Rabbi of the Movement for Reform Judaism, had us observe the eightieth anniversary of Kristallnacht my colleague Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner had other and the centenary of the Armistice ending the First duties and I offered to deputise. As those who may World War. have seen the service on television could testify, it was more than an occasion - the readings, the involvement Although unable to attend the complete programme of the President of Germany alongside Prince at the Progressive synagogue relating to Kristallnacht, Charles and other readers expressed the complexity I joined my wife in hearing Marguerite Mendelssohn of the folly of war but the need, nevertheless, to be speaking about her own experiences of Kristallnacht. determined to stand up to naked aggression. It is a topic I know well as my own grandparents were caught up in it. Indeed, in responding to Marguerite’s As if to illustrate that further, prior to entering the clear and deeply personal presentation, I mused on one Abbey I joined the throngs watching the march past aspect of the Holocaust that is often brushed aside. and the laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph. But just Although my immediate family were able to rebuild as impressive and probably staying with me, is the their lives in South Africa after escaping Germany in memory of walking in the courtyard outside the Abbey. the 1930s, I grew up with only a hazy knowledge of the There, each of the units that made up the British and much wider family that existed post war in countries Commonwealth forces had areas in which markers as spread out as the United States, Argentina, Israel, bedecked with a single poppy recalled lives of lost Holland, Switzerland, Denmark and even Germany servicemen and women. Most of these markers were itself. Indeed, in 1985, on the fiftieth anniversary of the of course crosses, but two sections side by side were founding of the Central British Fund for World Jewish solely made up of Magen Davids. One, the Gedud Ha Relief - now known as WJR - as I sat hearing the Ivri - the Jewish Brigade that emanated chiefly out of speakers and looking at the guest booklet, I noticed Palestine under the Mandate, and the other AJEX. In the name of a distant relative: It took another twenty the latter was a complete list of numbers of Jews who years and the opening of an exhibition of the work of had fought in both world wars and others. In all, over one branch of our family to get the bulk of the family a million and a half in both world wars: A testament together. surely of who we are and of our determination to play our full part in society - and maintain ourselves in But that sense of determination to overcome these the process. huge pitfalls which war created, was well expressed in the first of two films presented at the Progressive synagogue’s event. It was a documentary in which various survivors of Kristallnacht or, more exactly, those who got to Britain via the Kindertransport, spoke. Their stories are well known but worthy of repetition. Two were known to me, Bob and Anne Kirk, who lived in London for decades. And both are testament to that determination as they not only settled in this land, but became positive influences, both becoming leading Top Hat Productions figures in Liberal Judaism, with Bob serving as Chair of Presents Leo Baeck College some decades ago. The second film was a docu-drama on the Irving ‘Love Notes’ trial – the canard that David Irving tried to expound featuring lots of lovely songs from the shows that the Holocaust was a myth. Though again the and the charts story was known, presenting in the way it was, was at Ralli Hall, Denmark Villas, Hove captivating of itself. And again, the determined effort 12th January 2019 at 7.30 pm of those involved - author Deborah Lipstadt (whom I th had the pleasure of meeting a number of years ago), 13 January at 2.30 pm lawyer Anthony Julius and the whole legal team, Tickets £10 Adults was testament to what can be done when all seems £6 for under 12s. otherwise. Contact Laura on 01273 722173. This year I was not at the local observances on

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 12 Holocaust Reflections 13 Torn from their Homes – Kinder at Burgess Hill 80 years ago by Lesley Urbach At the end of December 1938, the Grand Order Sons of younger children attended local schools. Lotte complained that Jacob, a Jewish friendly society, agreed to accommodate and she was expected to study Shakespeare when she just wanted financially support 50 girls, who had arrived or were arriving to learn English and she hated the country dancing lessons, on the Kindertransport, at the Wyberlye Ladies Convalescent “We were dancing in circles. Everything was so foreign to us. Home in Burgess Hill. Amongst these girls were my mother Everything was so different. And it takes a while. You learn the and aunt, Eva (16) and Ulli (13) Wohl. language quickly but the other habits were so different and we Each Lodge had to get used to it”. And Alice, “we did not learn anything. agreed to provide We just copied words from the blackboard”. £1 a week to The matron was strict, telling the girls that there was no such support one child phrase as ‘I can’t’, only ‘I will try,’ and insisting that the girls (approximately speak only English, withdrawing their pocket money if they £50 today.) Some contravened this rule. However, Eva R still has the doll that members donated the matron gave her. Lotte commented, “We were treated food, shoes and very strictly but we were well taken care of. The food was clothes. Kosher kosher. The food was awful, not at all what we were used to. chickens were I especially remember tapioca pudding and oat meal in the delivered to the morning”. home on Fridays. The children had to walk around the town on Saturday and The convalescent home continued to operate and its Sunday afternoons and my mother complained that there was matron looked after the children. Eva R wrote: ‘It was a nice little to do in Burgess Hill. My aunt remembers going to the residence, the gardens and the putting green and the tennis cinema occasionally. Other children learned how to play tennis. court. Our rooms were cold because the little gas light did not A rabbi came from London to take Shabbat services. give much heat and we had 3 doubled blankets on top of us, The children missed and worried about their parents. Several, but I was not unhappy there.’ including my mother, looked in the telephone directory for Alice referred to the shock she felt, “coming into a home people with the same surname to contact to ask them to where everybody spoke German and English. And we didn’t help their family come to England. M. Wohl didn’t answer my speak a word of either. They thought we were little hicks mother’s letter. because they were all from big cities. But we adjusted quickly. Letters were exchanged before the war. My mother had one We had all kinds of nice things in the home. We lived at the phone call. During the war they sent and received telegrams back of the big house. There were about eight of us to a through the Red Cross but were restricted to 25 words. Lotte room. We ate our meals in the main building which was very commented on the futility of being taught how to make dolls elegant. We received 6 pence pocket money each week. It when everybody worried where their parents were, particularly was used mainly for stamps to write home”. once the war started. Alice recalled “going to the village on a Saturday morning to buy myself a little candy. As I was walking towards a store, I saw a father walking with his little girl holding hands. It broke my heart and I started to cry bitterly remembering walking with my father. From then on I did not go to the village on Saturdays”. The Grand Order raised £1,095 (approximately worth £50,000 today) to build extra accommodation for the children. There was an open day on 1 June 1939 when the new building was consecrated by Rabbi Lew from Highgate Synagogue. Donations from the Lodges declined after the war began, a matter of concern to the Executive Committee. The military The children, aged between 8 and 17, had different religious authorities requisitioned the Home in early February 1941 and backgrounds and upbringings. My mother said they all got on the children were returned to the Refugee Children’s Movement as they spent the most difficult time of their lives together. and the Polish Jewish Refugee organisation to be rehoused The children were well cared for: Eva R wrote, “I do remember elsewhere. There was no further mention of the children in the the ladies who were convalescing there treating us to Grand Order’s minutes. chocolates and ice cream”. During their time at Wyberlye House the children were well Alice wrote, “The dining room was beautiful. Places were treated, but this was not the experience of many who came set for breakfast just in the best style you can imagine, and on the Kindertransport. The majority of the children never saw next to each setting there was a banana or a piece of fruit for their parents again. breakfast and cereal. I mean I had never seen things like that A plaque is to be placed near the site of the Home in the in my village”. The older children helped in the house and the summer of 2019.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 12 Features 13 Zeh Rak Da’ati - 4 by Godfrey R Gould “Walking home alone after Cheder.” there were the Ben Gurion University Foundation (Secretary), JACS (founder Vice-Chairman), Book Fairs (twice Chairman), Although I was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne I spent the first Welfare Board (19 years), Representative Council (two stints eight years of my life in Sunderland. Ours was a Jewish home. for different organisations), Jewish Historical Society (sundry Friday night was Friday night, candles, Kiddush and challahs, posts and now Hon. President) and I still go to Shul regularly. baked at home by my mother (all our bread was baked at For some decades I was a guide at Middle Street Synagogue. home). On Shabbos and Yom-tov morning I would stand (or sit) Earlier this year I was declared surplus to requirements but I beside my father - no playing; Shul was for prayer not play. have now been asked to resume that role! And now I undertake And from the age of five I went on the tram to school, on the same function at Florence Place Cemetery. For seven the other side of Sunderland. My mother thought the local years I was co-editor of the “Shofar” our Shul magazine. And I school was too rough. How she got me into the one I went have co-edited and partially written the definitive history of the to I do not know and I’m not sure it was any less rough. On Brighton and Hove Jewish Community. As you are reading this Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon (about 4.30 pm) then you’ll be aware that I do write much for this and sundry I would return home, getting off the tram at the stop before other outlets, in print and on-line. mine, to go to Cheder for an hour and a half (as well as two And it all started with those giants as I walked home alone from hours on Sunday morning). After Cheder I would walk home Cheder when I was five. Somehow, I managed all this without by myself, a part of the journey being along a road called going to any Jewish Day School. Indeed, I don’t know if they The Cedars. It seemed very remote with a high wall on the really existed or were even needed in my younger days. Life far side and big houses set well back behind more high walls then was so much different with few of the distractions and on the near. Alongside the path there were naturally cedars, opportunities that are available to young people today. But I do enormous cedars. On a winter’s evening it seemed to me that wonder if we may be in danger of losing the Jewish Heritage the shadows of the trees cast by the street lights were giants and way of life to which I was accustomed? I don’t know. coming to get me. It was a fearful walk. Eventually it got the Whatever happened to those like my mother and so many better of me and one evening my little six-year-old self could more who came before us and who set us such meaningful go no further. I stood rooted to the spot terrified and started examples? Maybe you should simply ignore me - perhaps I’m to cry. But a kindly policeman on patrol (they did that in those really just another angry old man? days) noted my plight and holding my hand took me home. If I thought that I wouldn’t have to walk home alone again (and I don’t think I did) my solitary journeys continued and I swiftly Brighton & Hove Jewish Welfare learned that trees are not giants about to get little Jewish boys. But on 3 September 1939 a real giant appeared: Adolf Hitler Board provides affordable upset my routine by invading Poland. Between then and 1945 accommodation in Central Hove I lived in seven different homes and went to eight different It currently has a vacancy for a one bedroom unfurnished flat, schools. Sometimes I would go to Shul and sometimes Cheder, suitable for single occupancy and a one bedroom unfurnished depending where we lived, but always to school. When I was flat suitable for a couple. ten, we lived with my grandmother in Newcastle and then I went to everything, even a Shiur with our Rabbi on Shabbos The rent includes central heating; constant hot water; use of afternoon. The following year we had moved to a suburb of garden; television and telephone points. Newcastle well away from the Jewish areas, to be near the For further information or to request an application form Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Neptune Shipyard please telephone 07716 114012 or email where my father was then required to work. But I still went to [email protected] Cheder four times a week and to Shul on Shabbos morning, but without my father. When Rabbi Rabinowitz discovered that I came to Shul on the bus, he told my mother that if I had to use the bus it would be better I did not come! Her reply is a classic, “What would you rather Godfrey do on Shabbos Brighton and Hove Jewish Housing morning - play in the streets with the goyim? Godfrey should Association provides sheltered know that on Shabbos morning he should be in Shul, and accommodation in Central Hove that’s where he’s going to be”. It currently has a vacancy for a one bedroom By 1945 life returned to what to me became normal. I went unfurnished flat, suitable for single occupancy. to University (ultimately three), and when I was 21 I became a The affordable rent includes central heating; constant hot member of the Shul - it was simply what I expected to do. And water; use of garden; television and telephone points. within about five years I was Hon. Secretary of the Shul. As I moved about the country I was not as involved as I had been. For further information But when I moved to Brighton (Hove, actually) 53 years ago, I or to request an application form joined New Church Road Shul and became involved in sundry please telephone 07716 114012 or communal activities. I was on the Shul Board for a few years email [email protected] (an object lesson in how not to run any committee!) and then

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 14 Rep Council 15 SJRC Lording it up

The Chair Team of the SJRC, together with other leaders from British Jewry, was invited to a Chanukah Reception at the House of Lords on December 3rd. The event was hosted by the Board of Deputies and the All-Party Parliamentary Group on British Jews. Guest speaker was Angela Rayner, Shadow Education Minister. Chief Rabbi Mirvis lit the Chanukah candles in front of a packed audience. Also present was Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner, Senior Rabbi to Reform Judaism and Rabbi Danny Rich, Senior Rabbi and Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism.

SJRC Chair Team at the House of Lords Mark Regev, Israeli Ambassador

Chanukah at Number 10 by Beryl Sharpe During November I received an invitation from the Prime Winton’s daughter, Lady Grenfell-Baines, who herself came Minister, Theresa May, to attend a Chanukah reception. A wet to England on the Kindertransport. Mark Regev, the Israeli and murky Monday 3rd of December dawned and I was almost Ambassador, said he remembered fondly his trip to Brighton paralysed with nerves at the thought of having to walk down and enquired whether or not the BDS were still demonstrating Downing Street to number 10 on my own. outside Ralli Hall. I met a lady from Stamford Hill who works with people who have Crohn’s and colitis but cannot for Having been to The House of Lords with the chair team, now various reasons talk about it. Although ultra-religious, she is it was me alone! Thankfully Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner was determined that these debilitating illnesses should be talked walking my way and we walked Whitehall together. about and that no one should suffer in silence. Having gone through security, I walked up to number 10 The Chief Rabbi lit the Chanukah lights and spoke movingly where the policeman opened the door and there I was, quite about the Kindertransport ‘children’ who were with us. We were unbelievably, inside the Prime Ministerial residence! Mobiles then entertained by some of the children from Matilda Marks were taken, coats and bags hung up and then we walked up school. the famous staircase lined with pictures of past prime ministers with festive decorations intertwining the beautiful balustrades. Unfortunately Mrs May was still debating Brexit in the House of Commons so she couldn’t attend the reception, but the Gradually, people from all walks of life, different religions, Secretary of State spoke of the Prime Minister’s support for the charity workers, MPs, Rabbonim, The Israeli Ambassador Jewish Community and her anguish at the anti-Semitism that is and so many interesting people filled the 3 magnificent inter- growing in this country. connecting rooms with genuine delight to be included in such a When it was time to leave I wanted to bottle and keep tight the special event. The food kept coming: the latkes and doughnuts memories of such a special two hours and I felt truly humbled were amazing! and overwhelmed that I had been invited to 10 Downing Street I was privileged to spend time with Barbara Winton, Nicolas to represent the Brighton & Hove Jewish Community.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 14 Rep Council 15 Sussex Jewish Community Helping the Homeless

After appealing for donations of sanitary products and On an extremely toiletries from the community we have been astounded by wet November the contributions made so far. Within a few days of the appeal night we were going out the products started arriving at the collection point. ready to venture A large cupboard was quickly filled and bags of female and out into Brighton male products were made up. & Hove city centres to start our first distribution. Beryl Sharpe, Sarah Wilks, Grace Myers and Simon Seligman packed the boot of a car with the bags we had collected and with much trepidation we were on our way. We received amazing thanks and appreciation from the men and women who received our contributions and it really felt that we were carrying out an amazing Mitzvah. The homeless seemed to really welcome the practical items that we were able to donate. We are looking to carry on this project on an ongoing basis and are looking for volunteers who would be willing to give up a few hours every few weeks to distribute the bags to the homeless. Please contact Sarah on 01273 327763 or Beryl on 01273 734300 to volunteer. PLEASE KEEP THE PRODUCTS COMING Toothpaste, Brushes, Deodorants, Sanitary Pads, Cleaning Wipes, Soap, Razors, Shaving Foam, Shampoo, Chocolate, Power Bars, Scarves, Socks etc. Voluntary Support Agencies PLEASE DELIVER YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS TO:- • Ralli Hall Lunch & Social Club (Day Centre) 01273 739999 [email protected] ODM, 235-237, HANGLETON ROAD, HOVE, BN3 7LR • Norwood/Tikvah, Rachel Mazzier House 01273 564021 Mon-Fri 9.00 -5.30 • Hyman Fine House 01273 688226 • Helping Hands 01273 747722 [email protected] • Brighton & Hove Jewish Welfare Board 07952 479111 or [email protected]; website: www.bhjwb.org ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF NEW WEBSITE: www.sussexjewishrepresentativecouncil.org • Brighton & Hove Jewish Housing Association. [email protected] • Welfare at Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue/L’chaim project 01273 737223 • Welfare Officer at Brighton & Hove Reform. (Sue Rosenfield) 01273 735343 • Brighton & Hove Jewish Community Foundation at Ralli Hall. Tel: 01273 202254 or [email protected]

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 BHPS Rabbi Elizabeth Tikvah Sarah Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue, 6 Lansdowne Road, Hove BN3 1FF Tel: 01273 737223 Email: [email protected] www.brightonandhoveprosynagogue.org.uk 16 Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue Twitter@BHPS2011 17 Remembering Lily Montagu, z’l by Rabbi Elli Tikvah Sarah January is generally a dreary month in the northern living as a committed Jew in the modern world. In January hemisphere. And yet, set at the heart of winter, January also 1899, she published an essay in the Jewish Quarterly ushers in new beginnings. Across the world, the Jewish Review, entitled, ‘Spiritual Possibilities of Judaism Today’, people mark Tu Bishvat, the 15th day of the month of Sh’vat which encapsulated the worldview of Liberal Judaism. She with the New Year for Trees – Rosh Ha-Shanah La-Ilanot – wrote: “Together we must sift, with all reverence the pure as in Israel, the almond blossom appears on the trees. This from the impure in the laws which our ancestors formulated year, Tu Bishvat falls on Sunday, 20th January. And then, in order to satisfy the needs of the age…” a week later, on National Holocaust Memorial Day, we will The commitment to respond positively to ‘the needs of recall the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army on 27th the age’ became a cornerstone of Liberal Judaism, which January 1945, which marked the beginning of the end of the first found organisational expression in February 1902 with Sho’ah. the establishment of the Jewish Religious Union. Open In late December, I was conscious of a much less familiar to all Jews interested in reflecting on how to live as Jews date: the 145th anniversary of the birth of Lily Montagu, one today, services were held on Shabbat afternoons to enable of the three founders of Liberal Judaism, who was born on Jews of all denominations to attend. However, by 1909, 22nd December 1873. Lily Montagu died in 1963, at the opposition from some Orthodox quarters led to the decision age of 89, and between Tu Bishvat and National Holocaust to reformulate the JRU as a movement dedicated to the Memorial Day, on 22nd January, it will be her yahrzeit. ‘Advancement of Liberal Judaism’. Limitation of space allows me to share just a few key In the years that followed, Lily Montagu helped to found highlights from her life. At the age of 20, together with her Liberal synagogues around the country and in 1928 became elder sister Marion (1868-1965), and their cousin, Beatrice lay minister of the West Central Synagogue, a position she Franklin (1871-1959), who later married Herbert Samuel held until her death in 1963. In 1925, she helped found the (1870-1963), Lily Montagu founded the West Central Jewish World Union for Progressive Judaism and was responsible Girls Club. The aim of the club was to give working-class for running the WUPJ from 1926 through 1959, including Jewish girls the opportunity to develop themselves through organising its international conferences; the first of which classes, concerts and outings – and also through Shabbat was held in Berlin in 1928. Today, the WUPJ is the largest services which she led. During this time, Lily also led global Jewish organisation with affiliates around the world, services for children at the West Central Synagogue. including, in this country, both Liberal Judaism and the It was also during this time that Lily Montagu met the Movement for Reform Judaism. Zichronah livrachah – May Jewish scholar, Claude Montefiore (1858-1938), whose her memory be for a blessing; a source of continual blessing vision of Liberal Judaism mirrored her own approach to as we respond to ‘the needs of the age’ in the 21st-century.

Siddur & Machzor) and includes an exploration of the differences Events @ BHPS between Liberal Judaism and other Jewish denominations. The Third Season of Sunday Lectures and Lunches. course includes the festivals and commemorative days as they 11.30 am - Welcome drink on arrival come up. 12.00 to 1.00 pm - Lecture by guest speaker and Q&A session Classes are held on Shabbat from 2.15-3.45 pm, after the Access to Hebrew class. No class will be held on 5 January 2019. 1.00 pm to 3.00 pm - Lunch including wine or soft drinks and coffee Unit 3: Doing Judaism Only £22.50 per person. Non-members and their friends welcome 12 January: Tz’dakah & G’milut Chasadim 27 January: Sir Anthony Seldon - ‘300 years of Premiership in Britain’. How the job of ‘PM’ 19 January: Tu Bishvat seder will be held in place of has evolved over the last three centuries, classes, 1.00-2.30 pm particularly in recent times. 26 January: Finding your way through the Siddur Sunday 24 February: Dr Aviva Deutsch – ‘The Remarkable Isaac 2 February: Finding your way through the Chumash Rosenberg: WW1 Poet and Painter’ Access to Classical Hebrew with Rabbi Elli is held on Shabbat See our website for the full series programme and booking details. afternoons, 1.00 to 2.00 pm. Are you interested in being able to Onagim read and understand the Hebrew Bible or the prayer book? This Join us on Friday evenings at 7.30 pm for a shortened service, light class is open to students of all levels – from total beginners to those refreshments and an interesting talk and discussion. wishing to study classical Hebrew grammar and/or prepare a Torah reading. Students work on their own or in chavruta (pairs), with January 11: Dr Deborah Pencharz: ‘Nuclear Medicine’. input and support from Rabbi Elli. To join the class, please contact How radioactivity can help diagnose disease. the synagogue at [email protected] All are very welcome to our events, but if you are not a member Open Wednesdays - BHPS is open on Wednesday from 11.00 or friend of our synagogue please let us know you are coming on [email protected] or 01273-737223. am – 4.00 pm for social activities. These include scrabble, chess, bridge, kalooki, exercise classes, computer training, access to Exploring Judaism with Rabbi Elli is open to all those who wish the library and crafts. Please bring a packed lunch (vegetarian or to broaden and deepen their Jewish knowledge. The curriculum permitted fish). Hot drinks are available. Ring the office for further draws on Jewish texts (e.g. Torah, TaNaKH, Mishnah, Talmud, details if you would like to join us.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 BHRS Rabbi Dr Andrea Zanardo Brighton & Hove Reform Synagogue, Palmeira Avenue, Hove BN3 3GE Tel: 01273 735343 Email: [email protected] www.bh-rs.org https://www.facebook.com/BrightonReform

16 BrightonReform 17 Pizzaid Some weeks before, in England: I’d really rather not be drawn into these arguments, thought by Rabbi Dr Andrea Zanardo the Rabbi. But his American colleague was desperate for his opinion. Sderot, Israel, first week of December 2018: “This actor” says the friend “Nice fellow, but... I mean, he Little Shmuel is tired of his military service. Of course, it is important to serve in the Army of the Jewish State. The is great. Campaign for the immigrants, you get the idea. memory of the pogrom in Algeria, which Safta survived, is Unfortunately, ten years ago or so, he tweeted some anti- enough to remind him of the importance of having a Jewish Semitic rubbish, like “Jews brought the USA to war in Iraq, State. Jews are the ruin of this Country.” Nonetheless, military life can be terribly boring. The silence “Wow, disgusting.” is depressing. Yes, he has a smartphone, with all the radio “Now a journalist has uncovered the tweets ... but the actor stations of the world available, but let’s face it, would you regrets, you know? He wants to apologise, he is a different really want to listen to the BBC, where every other day Israeli person now... What do you think?” soldiers like Shmuel are portrayed as bloodthirsty monsters and day in and day out some pompous academic, perhaps “Well, I think he should do something, to prove that he really even Jewish, lectures the world on alternatives to the two is a different person. His actions have caused damage and states solution? damage must be repaired. You know, Jewish ethics is not But wait. What’s that? Pizza? For me? Sababah! that is about the intention, but about action, facts. great. And there is a card. “We are grateful for all that you do! “And which sort of reparation do you suggest?” Greetings from New York” “Let me think... I have an idea... this guy probably was not New York? thinks Shmuel. When this service is over I want to so fond of Zionism when he tweeted that rubbish. Now visit New York. Safta has a cousin in New York. hopefully he understands Israel... and there is this web site, And on that night in Sderot, little Shmuel felt less alone. http://pizzaidf.org  

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Bulletin Board – January Friday 4 Shabbat Kolot, 6.30 pm Saturday 5 Shabbat morning service led by Jason, 10.30 am Cheder Havdalah, 3.30 pm Saturday 12 Book Club - ‘Three Floors Up’ by Eshkol Nevo, 9.15 am Shabbat morning service led by Tony, 10.30 am Saturday 19 Shabbat morning service led by Steve, 10.30 am Shabbat Shalom Yeladim, 10.30 am Sunday 20 Tu B’Shvat Cheder including Tu B’Shvat seder, 9.30 am Saturday 26 Shabbat morning service led by Jason, 10.30 am (The diary is subject to change) *** Please book your place by calling the Shul Office

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 Rabbi Hershel Rader Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation, 31 New Church Road, Hove BN3 3AD 18 BHHC Tel: 01273 888855 Email: [email protected] www.bhhc-shul.org 19 Why? by Rabbi Hershel Rader Imagine you own something really precious and wish perspectives, fresh attitudes and discovering hidden to pass it on to someone else, what kind of person strengths of character that we never knew we would you give it to? Would you give it to someone possessed. Angels are holy beings that are never who would cherish and care for it or someone who tempted and never have the need to experience might neglect and forget about it? This is the question change. As G-d said to them ‘do you have wives the angels in heaven asked G-d before He gave the that you can be unfaithful to?’ We humans, who are Torah to the Jewish people at Mount Sinai, one of the faced with temptation, are forced to dig deeper into most pivotal events in our history - recorded in Yitro, our souls to discover fresh methods and strength to the last Sidra this month. withstand temptation. We are forced to fortify our value system by constant reflection and self-education. We The Rabbis tell us that when Moses ascended Mount have the opportunity of being totally different than we Sinai to receive the Torah the angels challenged the were yesterday, last week or last month. By immersing Almighty claiming that they should be the ones to ourselves in the Torah and pursuing its values we receive this gift. After all, a doctrine that contains involve ourselves in a continuing creative process. Divine wisdom belongs in heaven where it will be appreciated fully. The response was that the Torah With all our frailty and flaws, we are the recipients of contains a code of moral and ethical conduct and G-d’s Torah. Let us make sure to use it well. can only be given to those that have an inclination to break that code. Only those that are tempted to steal, commit adultery and lie are appropriate recipients of the Torah. This seems a strange argument. Why would Our Weekly Shiurim G-d want to give His treasure specifically to those that Three shiurim are held every week at are tempted to abuse it? 31 New Church Road, Hove. The Zohar, the fundamental treatise of Jewish Wednesdays, 12.30-1.30 pm. Mysticism, teaches that the Torah is much more than Lunch and Learn for all. a book of rules. It is the blueprint of creation, the tool A light informal lunch followed by a shiur. £3 a head. G-d used to create a new realm of existence. When Thursdays, 10.00 to 11 am. Ladies’ Shiur. He decided to part with the Torah and give it away, He (no charge). still wanted it to be used as a creative tool. By using Saturdays, half an hour before Minchah the teachings of the Torah, not just as a code of good (times vary - please see weekly notices). The shiur is conduct, but as an implement of real change, it is also followed by Minchah, a Seudah Shilitit and Ma’ariv a form of creation. When we experience real growth, (no charge). improving and refining our personality and making space for G-d to enter our existence, we become new people, realising the full potential of the Torah. Real change can only come when there is challenge BHHC Events to April 2019 and temptation. It comes from breaking out of our status quo and comfort zone, seeking alternative Catered Lunch & Learn Monthly on Wednesdays at 12.15 pm 9 January, 6 February, 6 March, 3 April Featuring a three course lunch – cost £7.50

Want to save money on your Monthly Friday Night Dinners 18 January at 5.45 pm Home / Business Expenses 22 February at 6.30 pm (provisional time) with a Which? Recommended 15 March at 7.00 pm (provisional time) supplier? Cost £15.00 - Spaces limited

Pesach Seder Contact David Schaverien Friday 19 April Tel: 01273 779001 Email: [email protected] Please call the shul office 01273 888855 to book or for further information

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 Rabbi Samuel de Beck Spitzer Hove Hebrew Congregation, 79 Holland Road, Hove BN3 1JN Tel: 01273 732035 18 HHC Email: [email protected] www.hollandroadshul.com 19 New Year Revelations by Rabbi Samuel de Beck Spitzer On the night of this 1 January / New years’ Day 2019 It must be said that within this particular school of (25 Tevet), I shall celebrate my birthday. Don’t all jump thought, souls can also manifest themselves within the with vintage bottles of champagne, chocolates and animal kingdom, plantlife and even inanimate objects flowers please, it is wholly unnecessary. It does beg by virtue of the fact that only within the lowest and the question as to the true significance of a birthday most physical of spiritual entities can the elevation and whether or not it has any real importance. of those ‘sparks’ of Holiness arrive at their position of origin. Much of Hassidism, stripped of its visual The ‘birthday’ subject has been rather exhausted and outward trimmings, is based on these concepts of Rabbinical responses in various formats can be found spiritual elevation and use of the physical. all over the Internet. What I would care to focus on is the concept of ‘Gilgul’. Otherwise known in common Of course, I do realise and shall even presume, that parlance as ‘Reincarnation’ and obviously related to some of these concepts shall come as a surprise or the day of one’s birth, the topic is vast and the details even mild shock upon hearing them for the first time. could fill tomes many times over. Perhaps a brief Whilst some elements are admittedly contested, overview will act to inspire further investigation. what emerges and what is common to all authentic expounders of Torah, is that the practical physical To the best of my knowledge, a belief in the ‘Gilgul’ Mitzvot (Commandments) as laid out in the Torah (Literally translated as ‘cycle’ or ‘wheel’) of the human alongside its prohibitions, act as a vehicle towards the soul is, in our era, common knowledge and basic fulfilment of the Jewish soul in its elevation back to its to Jewish philosophy. Having said that, it is not an source. essential element of our belief system and would not constitute an affront to Judaism’s basic tenets should one choose to reject it. The migration of souls and their myriad segments has been delineated in the work ‘Shaar HaGilgulim’ (Gate of Reincarnations) compiled by Rabbi Hayyim Kindertransport Vital, which relays the teachings of his Master the Commemorative ‘Ari HaKadosh’ (The Holy Lion), Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572) of Blessed Memory. He was the Shabbat 16th century Kabbalist and mystic par excellence who lifted the lid on both the theoretical and SUITCASE practical Kabbalah, never previously revealed. He founded the doctrines of Lurianic Kabbalah as Grey and tattered it stands in the attic Having accomplished sixty odd years part of what he perceived to be the metaphysical Of survival and childhood memories, purpose of Creation and his fame spread Stuffed tight with mother love and heartache, throughout the Jewish world effecting global Unable to forget the packed trains Jewish practice, despite the fact that he died at Of ownerless children and platforms of tears the relatively very young age of 38! Indeed, he is Its pock-marked skin a testimony buried in the Holy city of Safed in the Galilee and And emblem of such histories. his tomb is a destination for pilgrimage unto this What now in this war-world of cul-de-sac lives, day. Seekers of all ages for a place to own Confronting friendlessness in a strange town, A In the work ‘Shaar HaGilgulim’ (which can suitcase, perhaps, of unhappy souls now be found in several English translations), To be stored in some future eventual attic Or an oeuvre primarily geared to the already dumped in a museum as showpiece of luck. mystically initiated, Vital builds on the Kabbalistic foundations set out by his Masters’ predecessor Rabbi Moses Cordovero and takes it to another Lotte Kramer level. Thereby, all things, in fact all matter exists Lotte was born in Mainz in 1923 and came to Britain in by virtue of the fact that it contains within it June 1939 on the Kindertransport.

sparks of Godliness that provide it with its Life- She lives in Peterborough. Force. Because the concept of Tikkun (Fixing and improving the world) features very high in the worldview of the Holy Ari, therefore souls migrate to other bodily manifestations within different lifetimes in order to fulfil their destiny of Tikkun.

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019 What’s on: January 2019 Website: www.sussexjewishrepresentativecouncil.org Email: [email protected] SJN Email: [email protected] or [email protected] COMMUNITY EVENTS – IMPORTANT REMINDER: 20 Contact the Communal Diary before planning your events. 20 Email: [email protected]

SHABBAT SHALOM – BRIGHTON TIMES REGULAR ACTIVITIES In Light candles Out Havdalah Owing to the various bank holidays, please contact activity organisers to Fri 4 3.51 pm Sat 5 5.06 pm confirm that activities will be held Fri 11 4.00 pm Sat 12 5.15 pm Mondays Fri 18 4.10 pm Sat 19 5.24 pm „„ Shiur for the Actively Retired with Rabbi Efune 4.00 – 5.00 pm at Fri 25 4.22 pm Sat 26 5.35 pm 11 Hove Manor, Hove Street, Hove. Tel: 07885 538 681

„„ Talmud for the Thinking Man with Rabbi Efune 8.15 – 9.15 pm at SPECIAL DATES Chabad House, Upper Drive, Hove Tel: 01273 321919 Tuesday 1 January Bank Holiday „„ Torah & Tea with Penina Efune. Weekly Discovery and Discussion Monday 21 January Tu B’Shevat Group based on Jewish texts focusing on the personal meaning and relevance to our lives. 8.00 pm at Chabad House, Upper Drive, Hove. Tel or Text 07834 669181 Tuesdays

EVENTS IN JANUARY „„ Something to Say? - Discussion Group with Rabbi Samuel, every other Tuesday Hove Hebrew Congregation, 79 Holland Road, Hove Tuesday 8 10.30 am Tel: 01273 732035 „ „ Sussex Jewish News – Submission deadline for the February 2019 „„ Ralli Hall Lunch and Social Club, 10.30 am - 4.30 pm Tel: issue. Send your articles, thoughts, photos and announcements Jacqueline 01273 739999 Weekly Ralli Hall to [email protected] or [email protected] „„ Mummy and ME Music with Penina Efune at Montessori Nursery from 11.30 am to 1.00 pm. Enjoy a stimulating environment with your Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 baby/toddler, some meaningful discussion, music and movement „„ Top Hats present ‘Love Notes’ songs from the shows at Ralli Hall, Denmark Villas, Hove 7.30 pm. Tickets £10/£6 under 12s from „„ Painting with Rochelle (JAS), Studio at Ralli Hall, 2.00 - 4.00 pm. Laura 01273 722173 Tel: 07811 601106 Recommences 15 January. „„ Chutzpah Choir Yiddish singing in 4 parts with Polina Shepherd. 11.00 Tuesday 15 am – 1.00 pm weekly. For Hove venue contact chutzpahchoir@gmail. com or ring Betty on 01273 474795 „„ Meeting to further discuss the new Jewish Primary School - 7:15 pm at Ralli Hall „„ Israeli Dancing, 7.30 pm - 9.30 pm Ralli Hall Email: nicolahyman@ talktalk.net or [email protected] Sunday 27 Wednesdays „„ International Holocaust Memorial Day „„ Eastbourne Liberal Jewish Community (affiliated to Liberal „„ ‘Brains of Brighton’ Fun quiz in aid of Montessori Nursery, Mark Judaism) Coffee morning, 11.00 am, 1st Wednesday of each month, Luck Hall, 31 New Church Road, Hove at 7.30 pm. Tickets Hydro Hotel, Eastbourne. Information: www.eljc.org.uk or phone 01323 £10.00 from 01273 328675 725650 Thursdays Tuesday 29 „ Ralli Hall Lunch and Social Club 10.30 am-4.30 pm Weekly Tel: „„ Jewish Historical Society Sussex Branch with speaker Imogen „ Choi, Associate Professor, University of Oxford ‘Medieval Jacqueline 01273 739999 RH Sephardi Literature’. Ralli Hall, Denmark Villas, Hove. 7.30 pm. „„ JACS members are invited on the first Thursday of every month to the Members free. Visitors £5.00. Contact: [email protected] RHL&SC Tel: Jacqueline 01273 739999 RH

„„ Centre for German-Jewish Studies Evi Wohlgemuth memorial „„ Bridge at Ralli Hall 11.00 am lecture at the Royal Academy of Arts with Tracey Emin CBE RA „„ Weekly Torah portion with Rabbi Efune - men and ladies welcome - and art historian Sir Norman Rosenthal discussing the works 8.15 - 9.15 pm at Chabad House. 01273 321919 of Austrian painter Egon Schiele. 6.30 – 7.30 pm Tickets £20 Email: [email protected] Fridays „„ Kuddle Up Shabbat parent & child playgroup with Sara Zanardo and her guitar

„„ Free Happy Hour at Montessori Nursery 12 noon – 1.00 pm ALL IMPORTANT INFORMATION WELCOME. Come and celebrate, see, taste, hear and feel the joy of For visitors using a satellite navigation system in their vehicle Shabbat. Tel: 01273 328675

JEWISH CEMETERY, MEADOWVIEW, BRIGHTON „„ Eastbourne Liberal Jewish Community (affiliated to Liberal The post code for this cemetery is BN2 4DE Judaism). Service at 6.30 pm, 4th Friday of each month, at CTK Hall, JEWISH CEMETERY, OLD SHOREHAM ROAD, HOVE Eastbourne, BN23 6HS. Information: www.eljc.org.uk or phone 01323 725650. The post code for this cemetery is BN3 7EF Saturdays

„„ Eastbourne Hebrew Congregation, Shabbat services at 22 Susans Road, Eastbourne, 10.00 am. Contact 01323 484135 or 07739 Please note that our next issue will be January 2019 082538. The deadline for your announcements, news, views, „„ Eastbourne Liberal Jewish Community (affiliated to Liberal articles, photos, adverts, etc., is Judaism). Service at 12.30 pm, 2nd Saturday of each month, at CTK Hall, Eastbourne, BN23 6HS. Information: www.eljc.org.uk or phone 8th January 2019 01323 725650

ISSUE 292 | JANUARY 2019